The key in this drill is the delivery of the release. When you see the “lead hand release” and trail hand release” videos, you get the feel of that snap at the end of the release when the club catches up with the hands; the jackknife-battering ram drill gets the body to clear while staying in posture and the key to not getting ahead of it IS THE DIRECTION OF THE MOMENTUM of this drill which of course represents the same direction of the swing.
Staying with the arc-blur of this action (review blur of club and arc-blur series) in the direction that is through ball and intermediate point prevents any forward movement of the centre of the swing and the lag that results, increases the angle of attack for penetrating shots! 👌👍😀

I’ve been watching the videos you recommended but struggle to avoid my personal death move, which is the right shoulder moving in a flat rotation towards the target. This results in a shank or very poor contact. I am okay if I don’t try to apply any additional speed in my motion towards the target, but once I do that many days it spells disaster. If I consciously keep my shoulder back or try to force it down and around I can avoid major problems, but it isn’t a healthy swing. I’ve been on and off for years bouncing between very solid golf and downright ugly golf so regardless of the progress I have made thus far using the site I feel very good that I have finally identified a major culprit of my swing problems through the work being put in and referencing your videos.

Ok, very important that when you feel this move happen, you go back to what was the last thing going through your mind before you swung was; and if it was your task, then did you stay with your task into your finish and stick the finish?
-the target confirmation series
-the pre-motor cortex series
-the latest stick the finish series

Simply imagine Through the wood and out towards the direction you want to start the ball. As long as you are using a 90 degree angle visual; which could be the door or the beam.

Hey Steve! Good! Glad you are making use of the comment section! What you need to do is let go of the positions and stay with the task. The last couple series on premium are all about delivering the tasks into the direction you want to start the ball INTO THE FINISH.
We want to INCLUDE THE BALL in the task and not let the ball become the task. So see all the task videos and then those couple of series and we will go from there!

Hey Shawn – thank you for the quick reply!

I actually re-watched this video, because I was feeling like my backswing had no real purpose or connection to what I’m trying to accomplish at impact. Well, I was just back-swinging without really thinking about the 2 key points in this video:

1) Get your body turned away from the target to make room for throwing; and
2) THROW!

So at today’s range session, I was working on getting that turn to happen (I really wasn’t turning much previously, it was mostly just my arms moving on the backswing) and also thinking about throwing the club as opposed to just swinging it downwards.

Instant improvement!

Setting up to ‘throw’ is a huge thing I now realize. Instead of an aimless backswing, and then transitioning to the downswing as if it was a part of perpetual motion, I tried to mimic how you momentarily stop at the top while turned away from the target, and then on the downswing I was focusing on ‘throwing’ the arm-club unit down and through the dandelion.

I immediately got better distance due to the turn uncoiling at impact, and I also had far better contact at the bottom with the release.

I still need to get more comfortable with the torso turn at the top in one smooth motion (I found I was kind of 2-stepping it on the backswing, hard to explain, but club back, then final body turn, then begin the throw), but I am seeing such improvement since the magic moment when I finally ‘got’ what’s supposed to happen at impact with the release!

So even though I’ve always told people that I’ve been golfing for 60 years and never get any better, that magic moment when I understood the release (Monday, February 28, 2022!) has been a huge game-changer. I won’t have to tell people that old line any more, because I’ve seen incredible improvement in the past 36 days!! And I’m super confident that I will only continue to get more consistent and find ‘my swing’ that incorporates all of the key concepts that you’ve shared.

Thank you, Shawn!

Right on Steve! See “lead hand release in the backswing” video for re-enforcements for your backswing and then continue with the “throwing series” and then the “target confirmation series”

Hey Shawn – I’ve been watching the Lead Hand Release over and over again, and I’ve been trying to mimic your movements. The rotation you get on your backswing; the smoothness of your arm movements up to the top; and the turn and release you get at impact.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I can’t do what you can do. I mean, come on – you’re ridiculously flexible. My bad left knee doesn’t let me get close to the turn you get on the backswing, and when I try to get my hands and arms up where you get them before your downswing, I lose all control and mostly fail to get the club head cleanly through the dandelion.

As I said in my previous post, I have been hopeful to generate more club speed by emphasizing (if not exaggerating) my turn, but right now at my age and flexibility I don’t seem to be capable of that.

So I guess I’m feeling stuck right now.

I was able to correct a very poor takeaway as far as my arms were going, so that’s an improvement – but my consistency (what little I had) has vanished and I’m back to having no clue where the ball is going…

And what was that task you were good at again? Cutting through dandelions or peeling divots out into the target? Throwing the club?

Dandelions. But in looking at video of my ‘swing’, it wasn’t pretty or correct.

The throwing was kinda working, yes.

Maybe I’m getting too far ahead of myself in terms of progress vs expectations. But I was hoping I’d be able to go out and play some golf before visiting my son next weekend. But my home courses here are so ridiculously narrow that if you can’t hit it straight and control your distance, it becomes an exercise in sacrificing golf balls to the ponds, lakes, and marshes.

And right now, on the driving range, my shots are going all over the map – I can predict or rely on any given shot. Ugh.

I meant to say ‘CAN’T predict or reply’

Ok, there we go! We are going to throw the club in the direction that is through the intermediate point into the finish and stick the finish. We are going to predict that the stem of the dandelion is in the way of this. See the “throwing series”, the “blur of club” and the “alignment reload” videos and the “goldie locks series”

At address, the face of the club means nothing; it is when you deliver in the direction you want to start the ball and see how the ball flies that matters; IN DYNAMIC MOTION!! See the “blur of club” and “arc Blur unstoppable momentum” videos as well as the “alignment reload” video which are SUPER KEY!!

Thank you for your quick reply – in Spite of Masters. Will check that out. Thanks.

Sounds like you got your kinetic chain to engage there Tom! See #6 in the “kinetic chain facilitation series” as this sounds like what I am doing in that video! Also the “off season training series” (#7-8 or 9) where we do the walking drill and pretend to throw clubs at every step through with the lead leg!

Can’t wait to try that…. what was strange to me was that the move to ‘getting the ground’ happened way earlier than I’d ever felt or realized. Good stuff…

This is great feedback Tom, awesome! Now let’s say you applied this to the 2 ball drill and had 2 golf balls in the way; would you not need to “tone up” the anatomy to compress through those? What about if you practiced through thick rough and then came back to flyer lie on the first cut? Understand what I mean? Sure it would be more “effort” but you could still perform it “easily”; Make sense?

I gave the rough/first cut analogy a try on a small bucket (about 30 balls) I must have been doing something wrong as I ended up pulling a number of shots left. I still worked my way through the bag but tried something different on the last few. I did a practice swing where on the downswing I took a step toward the target to throw the driver in that direction, kind of like the catapult drill but without hitting a ball. I kept that feeling of stepping toward the target as I hit the driver and I felt like I released way better. Ball had a tiny draw ( my typical shot with driver is a fade) but it felt like it took off so I did it 3 more times. Two of them took off and the 3rd I hit too low on the face. End of bucket and I had to leave. So my question is would that catapult drill work as a substitute for the first cut/thick rough idea to give that toned up feel? I want to try that feel on the rest of my clubs but will have to wait so I thought I’d also check to get your thoughts. Thank you. Tom

I will give that a try and report back after next range session…probably after the masters! Thank you.

You bet Marcus! That is my focus point right now and the latest series on sticking the finish are HUGE FOR ME and are taking my consistency to the next level! In my case, because I find my swing every day and have not had a slump for several decades, I got complaisant and have had a lesson with a student revive that in me and had my light bulb moment! You will see much better from me going forward!👍👌💪😀

Exactly!! 👍💪👌

Different purposes! What are you trying to do-accomplish? Savy, like everyone, is evolving at her pace…

OK, I’m trying to hit a crisp and powerful full shot.What is the purpose of perpetual motion? What is the purpose of a slow backswing, pause and a faster downswing?

Is the purpose of perpetual motion to see the blur? Any other purpose?

2 sets of videos for these important core concepts:
-perpetual motion drill series
-using the weight in your swing-axe drill with Savy
both series are “MEGA IMPORTANT”

Thank you, Shaun, I’ve learned a lot from your instruction and I’m playing better golf as a result!

Good picture of you with hammer; just replace the hammer with an axe and cut through a small bamboo with it (dandelion stem or tee when the ball is there)

Can you swing a full length club and do you have carpet?

Yes Sir I can!

Good! See “perpetual motion drill” series and “kinetic chain facilitation series” and all the “release” videos. Make sure you see “blur of club” and the “arc blur series” too. You will have your plate full with just these!

Much appreciated!

Hey Robert!
since we started our online lessons, we have had a nice contingent of students rely on the weekly coaching with amazing results; most are still there after a year of weekly lessons! That tells you it works in spades! My Mondays and Fridays are booked heavy with only online lessons and I am getting ready to close the gate for a while…

Hey Steve! Please watch “the senior series” asap!
if you are doing everything in that video and your backswing also jives with the “lead hand release in the backswing” video, then we need to have a swing analysis so I can see what is going on and recommend the proper course of action.

Good stuff! 👍👍

Depends on the ball position! Please see the “diagonal stance series”

Hi Sam! You need to get creative with that on the golf course when playing the ball down right? Bottom line is fade and draw are different because of BALL POSITION. Fade is ball forward, aim left and swing left of IP. Draw is aim over IP and swing right of IP.
See “alignment reload” as well as “working the ball” and “fade fine tuning” and “draw fine tuning”
Enjoy!